Marin County, California is well known for it's natural beauty and sophisticated elegance. And now the same fertile ground that has been home to some of the most incredibly gifted artists of our time has produced yet another significant and undeniable talent.

Keeley Valentino cites Patty Griffin, Emmylou Harris, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Amy Grant and Jackson Browne as her biggest musical influences. She also used to blast country music out of her '93 Mustang (car) stereo while growing up in Novato, CA. Consequently her own sound is a soulfully electric and joyful flavor of folk-pop that lives somewhere amongst the innocence of Colby Caillat, the sexiness of Norah Jones and the lyrical depth of Lisa Loeb. But she infuses that space with a fresh and dynamic style uniquely her own.

At her core, Whitney Nichole is a humble, approachable, sweet young woman, whose music is truly an extension of her warm personality. Every live performance is genuine, heartfelt and intimate. “I try to tell stories with my music which invoke raw emotions that people of all different ages, backgrounds and situations can experience,” she says. With distinguished piano parts, clever hooks, powerful chord progressions, moving lyrics, and belted vocals, it’s clear that this female singer/songwriters melodic pop is heavily influenced by rock, country and soul.

Following the success of her 2010 EP Will It Grow, Whitney teamed up with producer Adam Rossi (Megan Slankard, Luce, Brad Wolfe) who brings her piano playing and singing to life on her debut full-length album 100 Strong, placing her among the likes of Sara Bareilles, Adele and Ingrid Michaelson. Releasing independently on March 8, 2011, 100 Strong offers a vessel to travel and explore this artist’s story and spirit.

Keyboards, drum machines, and love songs …

What happens when a girl who grew up singing Amy Grant songs into her hairbrush teams up with a guy who raised himself on New Order and wore only black for ten years? They make the dreamy, penetrating songs that have emerged for the upcoming album by LA-based singer/songwriter Shannon Curtis, as helmed by her producer/mixer husband Jamie Hill (Jens Lekman, The Presets, Nada Surf).

Shannon says of the record (as yet untitled):
“Our aim is to conjure the sound of the movies that play in your head, the words you wish you’d said in the moment, the feelings you just haven’t been able to shake.” Early reports are that the new material is “hypnotic,” “like being caught in a dream,” and “incredibly beautiful.”

The Los Angeles Times has described Shannon as “… a beautiful piano player who sounds like the love child of Fiona Apple and Norah Jones.”

Or, as the Boulder Weekly puts it, Shannon makes “music that makes you want to dance in your underwear or cry in your beer.”

Shannon has released 3 EPs and one acoustic LP over the last 4 years, all on the small independent label Saint Cloud Records. Saint Cloud has sold nearly 10,000 of those records to date, and Shannon’s song “Before the Sun” was featured on MTV’s The Hills.

The new album’s first single, “Brightest Light In The Room,” was released digitally worldwide by Saint Cloud Records on May 31, 2011. The song was inspired by and written for two of Shannon’s fans — both retired female US Army veterans of the war in Iraq — on the occasion of their wedding engagement.

Shannon’s previous Saint Cloud Records releases are:
Boomerangs & Seesaws (EP, 2007)
Paris Can’t Have You (EP, 2008)
Why Don’t You Stay? (EP, 2009)
“I play the piano and sing love songs” (acoustic LP, 2010)

Why Don’t You Stay? was produced in Nashville by Grammy-winning producer Charlie Peacock (The Civil Wars, Sixpence None The Richer, Switchfoot), and was mixed in Los Angeles by noted mixer Joe Zook (One Republic, Modest Mouse, Katy Perry).

Constant touring (over 150,000 miles in her VW Jetta in the last 3 and a half years) and placements in TV and film have been building Shannon a devoted and growing following across the country.